DesuckifyWork®

Can we talk? I feel like we can’t, actually. At least not at work. We can make word noises out of our faces but most of it is overly polite, passive aggressive, aggressive/aggressive, or corporate gobbledegook.It’s ridiculous, really. Yet another way our workplaces are distinctly not human.That’s why I brought Michael Lee onto this week’s DesuckifyWork® podcast. He’s all about making work more pro-human. By helping people have useful conversations, especially ones where we embrace conflict.Conflict helps us learn, solve problems, make ideas better.But we spend so much energy avoiding it because our caveman brains fear we’ll get thrown to the Woolly Mammoths if we don’t keep the peace.Also, most of us suck at conflict. Michael has spent years researching how we can get better at it. And he shares a bunch of those ideas during this episode. My favorite? Arguing for someone else’s POV, especially one we don’t agree with.That practice alone would probably take about 80% of the suck out of workplace communication. It might have an even great effect on weighty conversations outside of work like politics, religion or your favorite Beyonce song.My favorite is the one that’s playing out of earshot. But I’d be happy to argue in favor of whatever you like.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. This episode is part of our ongoing Prohuman Series, in partnership with the Prohuman Foundation.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.—You can follow Michael on LinkedIn. And check out The Civility Initiative at The University of Charleston to learn more about his work and his podcast “When We Disagree.”If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!—Bonus questions from Michael:Why do you like spending time listening to this podcast? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Work sucks less when trust is more than just a word on a company website.Trust is at an all time low—from corporations to government to media—our faith in our foundational institutions is flimsier than ever. Add AI to the mix and it’s a wonder we believe anything, ever.We expect people to just show up at work and functional normally in the face of all this? It’s crazy. And if you look around and most workplaces today, “normal” is clearly not happening.Courage is the way out, according to this week’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast. Maryam Mehrtash is a marketing exec and author who has demonstrated courage since she was barely able to speak, as a refugee from Iran, along with her family.Today, she writes about courage every week on her Substack—This is Not a Memo. She views courage as a skill. Something we can build over time with “reps.” Start small with something as simple as saying what you actually want for dinner instead of “whatever is fine.” Tell your friend, “I’d love a second glass of wine” instead of politely declining.Before you know it, you’ll be the weirdo at work who never flinches when the hard thing needs to be said. You may even inspire other weirdos to join you.That’s how we build trust at work, by saying and doing hard things. By living out the values we too casually post on corporate websites. By being reliable even in the face of external madness. Especially then.So, who’s ready to get weird?—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. This episode is part of our ongoing Prohuman Series, in partnership with the Prohuman Foundation.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.—You can follow Maryam on LinkedIn and Instagram. And be sure to subscribe to her Substack—“This is Not a Memo,” where she shares stories of courage every week.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!—Bonus questions from Maryam:If you stripped away your work title, what is the one thing that feels incredibly easy to you but looks like magic to everyone else? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Work sucks less when talking about mental health becomes as boring as talking about going to the dentist.When it’s just another thing. Like that show everyone’s watching. The game last night. Or that new laundry detergent that really does make your whites 20 percent whiter.When it’s fully normalized and casualized.That’s what Paul MacFarlane wants. A return guest on the DesuckifyWork® Podcast, Paul is a creative soul who believes our work should bring out the best in humanity.And our humanity is crying out for some help right now. AI, layoffs, wars, polarization. It’s the soup we swim in every day. Why the hell can’t we talk about how we’re coping with all of it without making it weird?We all have emotions. And we’re all bringing ‘em to work despite 100 plus years of effort to keep them out.Let’s talk about them. Let’s help each other deal with them. Let’s realize that our capacity to feel things is the greatest gift in the universe and is the thing that will guide us through every possible uncertainly that comes our way.Let’s be boringly, beautifully, unabashedly, human.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying beginYou can follow Paul on LinkedIn. And check out his site at thepaulmacfarlane.com to learn more about his work and his delightfully human take on the world.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus questions from Paul:Do you think the normalization and casualization of mental health would be a good thing? If so, how could you help make it happen?DesuckifyWork® is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Work sucks less when we realize unity does not require uniformity.A cohesive culture means everything at work. But it doesn’t mean everyone needs to show up in the same way.In fact, it’s way better when we don’t.A shared mission? Yes. And the only way to achieve it is if you invite everyone to bring the stuff that makes them interesting to the table.Neil Ghosh has made it his mission to help make this approach a reality. He’s written a book called “Do More Good” and he’s speaking to folks around the world about it.One idea I really love—in addition to rewarding performance at work, let’s reward “decency.” The people who do the right thing, are a delight to work with, make things easier, own their mistakes, support folks who are struggling.The core value under all of this? Inclusion. Giving more people more pathways to be seen and valued. And helping teams bring out the best in everyone.We do all that, we get more done and those big hairy missions that usually just sit gathering dust on company websites become living, breathing invitations to make an actual difference in the world.Sounds pretty good to me.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. This episode is part of the ongoing Prohuman Series in partnership with Prohuman Foundation.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.—You can follow Neil on LinkedIn. And check out his site at neilghosh.org to learn more about his work and his book. You can also check out his recent Fast Company and CEO World articles.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus questions from Neil:What is one thing in the current work environment that is worrying you, not just for yourself, but for the next generation? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

How often do you feel like an actual human being at work?LIke someone who is valued, seen, appreciated and respected. Like a full 3-D person with emotions, quirks, brilliance, cofusion, crankiness and all the other stuff that makes us, us. My guess is not often enough. Workplaces are often the most inhuman places we experience in our lives. Because somehow we got the idea that this is the way to get the results we want. Beat people down, keep it “all business” all the time and watch all the arrows move up and to the right. Except that’s not how it works. Study after study confirms that companies do better when they treat people fairly and humanely. When they invite people to show up fully. When they stop using dumb corporate lingo like “circle back” and simply say, “let’s talk later.”The robots may be coming for our jobs but many of us became just like those robots long, long ago. We can do better. You can check out the full podcast episode here or here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Quick, picture an org chart. Blocks filled with names and lines drawn from the top execs all the way down to the most junior team members.Now imagine flipping that chart on its head. CEO at the bottom, supporting everyone above them.Feels a lot better, right?This is the world Joe Palm and Mike Moss would like to create. And they’ve written a book to help make it happen—Practical Servant Leadership: People-First Strategies to Create Value in a Profit-Obsessed World.This is not a feel good book. It’s a do good book, with tips and strategies to help leaders become servant leaders.It’s a direct challenge to the ethos of shareholder primacy, made popular by former GE CEO Jack Welch and normalized by pretty much every damn CEO since.The reason Wall Street goes gaga when companies announce layoffs and why so many of us feel helpless in the face of insane corporate work policies.It doesn’t have to be this way.Servant leadership has been proven to improve profits, productivity and performance. And Joe and Mike have come up with ways to make it work no matter where you sit within an organization.But let’s be clear—big and lasting change will only happen when top leaders commits to it.Who will lead the way? I’ve had a number of guests on this podcast who are already doing it. Mark DiMassimo, Mike Wofsohn, Andrew Goodwin, Everett Reiss, Veronique James, Jēnna Reese, Michelle Edelman, Jason Fried, Ryan Berman.Some of the best desuckifiers I know. If you’re ready to join them, let’s talk. I’d love to have you on the show.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Joe and Mike on LinkedIn. And check out practicalsl.com to learn more about their book and how to be people-first leader.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus questions from Joe and Mike:From Joe: If you have someone that’s been on your team, have their own team, you know, 20 years from now, what part of you do you want them to extend to their team?From Mike: For those middle to high level leaders in the kinds of environments we’re talking about, what’s it going to take to make you do something different and buck the system? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Is being a TSA agent your dream job?Probably not, especially right now.But imagine being that agent and doing everything in your power to make every moment fun and joyful. You’re energetic, playful, cracking jokes and generally making a normally agonizing experience more pleasant and fun.Now imagine your boss comes over and rips you a new one for daring to have fun on the job. Suddenly your whole energy shifts. You’re crabby, on edge, defensive. Making everyone around you miserable.Which version of that agent would you want to be?This is the choice we face every day at work. How we show up for ourselves and others. Will we choose joy? Or something else.Amy Dickens is a walking, talking, smiling, dancing joy expert who helps adults reconnect to the joy we all have inside of us. The joy that life is so good at scraping away until it becomes nostalgia.Amy witnessed that TSA agent on a recent trip. It inspired her. And it made her sad to see that man’s boss stuck in the story that work must be miserable.Our conversation was an absolute joyride, her infectious energy creating a delightful back and forth around ways we can make work (and life in general) more fun. Adult summer camp. Joy parades. Using the word “shaboozy.” And a book filled with 101 Ways to Spread Joy. One of my favorite bits was when she mentioned the idea of a “Joy Gym” in passing. Suddenly it was like, why don’t we have Joy Gyms? That sounds awesome. We should have one in every office.We also talked about how a more enjoyable workplace is a more profitable and productive one. It’s one of the easiest cheat codes out there and yet most businesses are stuck in the old model of grinding people until they break down like my old Camaro did weekly back in the late 80s.We don’t have to wait for those corporate execs to get it. We can bring joy into our work every day, just like that TSA guy. And if you’re a leader thinking about scolding someone for daring to have fun at work, consider joining them instead. You might like it.I know your team will.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Amy on Instagram and TikTok @theamydickens. And check out livejoyfullyyou.com to learn more about her book, her podcast and to simply feel better about the world.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Amy:Imagine you’re 80 years old, looking back on your life. What are you thinking? What version do you wish you had optimized for more success? What does success mean to you at that age? When were you fully alive? What does that version of yourself wish you had done differently?DesuckifyWork® is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

The problem:The attention (addiction) economy is killing us.The way to solve it:Moving to a trust-based economyThe world we could be creating:One where it doesn’t feel like we’re slaves to a system nobody actually wantsHow we can create it:🐱 Step away from the algorithm once in a while🐱 Notice things, wonder, be curious🐱 Give attention instead of demanding it🐱 Shift from coercive funnels to actual human connection🐱 Bring inefficiency back into the system🐱 Embrace creativityWhy inefficiency is glorious:Because it’s load-bearing. Trust is built in the slow, the cumbersome, the figuring it out together moments. Trust takes time, it can’t be automated. In fact, the more we streamline our operations, the more we strip trust out of the system.How AI fits in:AI is a symptom of the problems we’ve been creating for years now. And it can also help us dig out of them, if we use it smartly.Why creativity matters more than ever:Creativity is the best tool for navigating complexity. Integrative thinkers who can connect disparate ideas and build trust are exactly what we need right now.Question Nick wants you to ponder:What’s one thing that you think would be difficult to give up in the algorithmic system? What could you actually give up?Remember pondering? Let’s do more of that.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Nick on LinkedIn. And check out damnsgiven.com to learn ore about his work and upcoming book, The Damn Rules. You can also visit trustmadegrowth.com to join his online community.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone! Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

The world is on fire. AI is coming to replace all of us. Trust is at an all time low.Good news?That’s the premise of a new book co-written by James Patterson (yes, that James Patterson) and Patrick Leddin, today’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast.The book is called Disrupt Everything and Win. And it’s basically a how to manual for the wacky world we’re living in right now.It starts with the story of Patterson, who rose up to CEO of J. Walter Thompson in NYC before deciding to throw all of that away and try his hand at a business where about 1% of folks actually earn a living at it. After blowing that goal out of the water, he decided to rewrite what it means to be a best-selling author, essentially creating a fiction-writing empire and deciding it’s completely normal to co-write books with folks like Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton.Then Patrick comes in, whose career includes jumping out of planes for the US Army, creating a successful consulting business and working as a professor at Vanderbilt University, along with his current role as a co-author with one of the most famous writers on the planet.So how do they do it?By viewing disruption as fertile ground for growth, not a threat. That sounds counterintuitive, when our nervous systems are screaming for some sense of normalcy. But our nervous systems have it backwards. We don’t need “normalcy,” we need to recognize that a chaotic, disrupted world is normal.Patrick and James make this clear through four fundamental principles in their book:* The status quo is a seductive little devil: we need to accept that change is inevitable.* We’re wired to disrupt: we have big brains that dream up amazing things. Creativity IS disruption.* Relationships require disruption: lean into the ones that support you and step back from the ones that make things suck.* Time is Finite: nothing lasts, what are you going to create in this moment?The book outlines 16 “Disruptor Behaviors” that we can all tap into. The good news is that you don’t need all of them. Just the ones that work for you.My favorites:🐱 Believe better is possible.🐱 Think deeply to gain insights🐱 Stand firm in the face of doubtersMy takeaway from all of this? The world isn’t getting any less nuts, let’s find a way to live a great life that acknowledges and even appreciates that reality.I’m up for trying. You?Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Patrick on LinkedIn. And check out his site at disrupteverything.com to learn more about the book and the power of positive disruption.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Patrick to our audience:What is one practice or habit or situation or relationship that you need to disrupt in the next six to 12 months? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

If you were designing a workplace, would it look like the one you’re in now?Stop laughing.Okay, now that we’ve calmed down, what’s your answer? How would you set up your teams? How would the work flow, ideally? What kinds of training (remember training?) and learning opportunities would be provided?Put simply, what would the user experience look like?This is the question David Greene is answering every day. With a background in UX and a passion for making work not suck, he’s perfectly suited for the job.He’s led some great efforts while in the agency world. Creating a time off program for employees who need to care for elderly parents or grandparents. And a part-time pilot that gave people and the agency flexibility to do great work and live a great life.That’s the goal. As David says, we should be thinking about how we integrate work with our lives, not how to build our lives around work.I couldn’t agree more. And I think you will too, after listening to our conversation.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.—You can follow David on LinkedIn. And check out his site at greeneonline.com or reach out to him at [email protected]. New site at that same URL coming soon.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!—Bonus question from David to our audience:If your organization today, where is the experience being underutilized? Where do you look at it and say they’re not being used to their best ability? And if your five most experienced people leave tomorrow, what would actually break?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

The conversation was so nice we had to have it twice.It took two recording sessions for Sheri Zevenbergen and I to nail down this week’s DesuckifyWork® podcast episode. Thanks to some technical difficulties.But it was so worth it. Sheri is coach, podcast host and delightful bundle of energy and insight. With a clear vision for how we can live a life that matters.It’s all about the dash. You know, the one between when we’re born and when we die. Sheri calls this the “DASH Mindset.” What are we gonna do with that time?For many folks in the business world, the answer is usually achievement. Do all the things as well as we can do them and get all the rewards that come with all the doing.Then we wake up one day and go, what was the point of all that again?If we want to take more ownership of our dash, we need to:🐱 Reprogram our inner voice🐱 Learn and live by our values🐱 Build new habitsThe best part of all this? If we do those things, it not only makes our lives better, it makes the lives of the people around us better too. Our family, our friends, our teams at work, the dude we see every morning at the coffee shop and do the mutual grunt/nod thing with.This is how desuckification happens. One person at a time, one habit at a time, one choice at a time.We only get one dash. What are you gonna do with yours?—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.—You can follow Sheri on LinkedIn. And check out her site at thedashmindset.com where you can learn more about her coaching work and check out her awesome podcast.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!—Bonus question from Sheri to our audience:What are you just naturally good at that you don’t even recognize? What are you most complimented on?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here.DesuckifyWork® is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

People suck sometimes.All of us.Especially at work.Our humanity narrows.We turn into strange creatures who speak in acronyms, buzzwords and status updates.And we wonder why it’s all so hard.We made it that way.And we can unmake it.By becoming more relatable.Rachel DeAlto —author, speaker and former relationship expert on “Married at First Sight”—wrote a whole book about it. Two, actually. Her latest, “The Relatable Leader” lays it out plainly:We need to connect, communicate and inspire.🐱 Ditch the corporate speak and just say the thing. Get to know people as people, not means to an end.🐱 Stop making assumptions and start asking people what they actually need.🐱 Have a point of view and show some some genuine energy around the work you do.That’s what makes us more relatable. That’s what makes us better leaders. And that’s what makes work suck a whole lot less.If you’re into that sort of thing.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Rachel on LinkedIn. And check out her site at racheldealto.com where you can learn more about her books and her speaking work.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Rachel to our audience:What are you excited about?People suck sometimes.If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

A company that makes, installs and maintains piping systems in some of the hottest and most challenging environments in the world has created a work culture that should inspire any of us who work in less hazardous spaces.I spoke with Andrew Goodwin, president of Professional Piping Systems on this week’s DesuckifyWork® podcast. People love working for this company. Retention is high, career growth is open to all and the team seems to genuinely enjoy each other.They’ve cracked the code on Desuckifying Work and the good news is, it’s not all that complicated.It starts by knowing who you are. They have a BAMF mentality (Bad Ass Mother-Effer) and invite anyone who wants a piece of that to join them. Word gets around.They give a crap about their team. They invest in them, with real training dollars and consistent engagement from the top of the organization.They create an actual process to help people learn and grow. They bring junior folks in through an apprentice program that pays people to learn on the job. Imagine that? And they have a train two, promote one policy that encourages folks to pass their knowledge along so they can enable their own advancement.Lastly, they have fun. Dirt bike and side-by-side groups meet up on the weekends. They share inside jokes. They don’t take themselves so seriously.I half-joked that PPS should create a separate arm that trains other companies on how to build a winning culture.But seriously, they should.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.—You can follow Andrew on LinkedIn. And check out his company’s site at ppsphx.com.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!—Bonus question from Andrew to our audience:For people who have been working with a company for five plus years, what’s the reason you stayed? Is it pay? Is it culture? Is it something beyond that? Is it that you’re afraid to change?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Who are you on your best day? What about your worst?Be honest.Brad Farris, engineer turned leadership coach, took me through this exercise on this week’s DesuckifyWork® podcast. And it’s pretty wild. Here are my results:Best Day:CuriousLovingEnergeticCompassionateWorst Day:Closed MindedStubbornCrankyShut DownWhat’s fascinating is how much the two sides relate to each other. curious vs. closed minded, energetic vs. shut down, etc.We all have these continuums that we live across. And the key is not to dismiss the “bad” side. We’re human. It’s to find ways to show up on the good side more consistently.The way we get there is so simple And yet the steps can seem damn near impossible sometimes.🐱 Get a good night’s sleep🐱 Exercise regularly🐱 Unpack your calendarHow’d you do on those over the past week?If we can crack this code on this stuff, we’ll show up better at work, at home and whenever else we spend our time. And maybe solve some of the challenges that feel so overwhelming when we’re not at our best.Unless you’re good with how things are right now. In which case, can I have some of whatever it is you’re smoking?Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin. You can follow Brad on LinkedIn. And check out anchoradvisors.com to learn more about his executive coaching work and take his self-leadership assessment.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Brad to our audience:How are you creating your best day or allowing your worst day?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

The idea that corporate jobs aren’t physically taxing is a myth.In many cases they are literally killing us. In almost all, they are taking an often invisible toll on our bodies, creating illness and injury through repeated assaults on our nervous systems.Ridiculous timelines, insane expectations, ever-changing market pressures, unstable economic forces. It’s a lot.“Hey, at least I’m not out there shoveling crap every day.” Sure. But your body (and mind, and soul) are still taking a beating.Sarah Dawkins experienced this firsthand during her career as a nurse. It nearly broke her. Until a colleague helped her see a way through her chronic pain and depression.Today, she works as a holistic health coach and wrote a book called “Heal Yourself” that shows how she and many others have found a way to fully heal.My favorite insight? The idea that “little t” traumas can have just as much impact as major ones. The body doesn’t lie. If something has caused us pain, it’s going to affect us, often for decades.The only way out is through. Acknowledge the pain and heal the root cause. A great way to start is by simply sitting quietly and noticing what you’re feeling in your body. Ask what those feelings are trying to tell you. Your inner wisdom is often smarter than the noise in your head.If all of this sounds a bit woo, I get it. I’m about the least woo guy you’ll ever meet. But this stuff just makes sense to me. I’ve done some of the work and it actually works. It’s not magic. It’s giving yourself access to a power that many of us have shut down for decades.If you’re feeling that weight of the world right now, isn’t it worth a try?Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Sarah on LinkedIn. And check out her site at sarahdawkins.com where you can learn more about her book and the amazing work she’s doing.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Sarah to our audience:Take a moment and be with your body and just check in and find a space that maybe feels heavier or darker or lighter or give it a shape or a color, but somewhere that feels different. And then ask that place, what is it that you need or what are you trying to tell me?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Don’t get status reports from your team. Get soul reports.That’s the takeaway from this week’s DesuckifyWork podcast with Carin Knoop. Carin is a wonderful writer and the Executive Director of the Case Research & Writing Group at Harvard Business School.We talked about the importance of mental health at work and how managers and leaders need a whole new set of skills to deal with the issues so many workers are facing.Carin offers a bunch of great ideas for how to engage with employees who are struggling. Most of which boil down to the simple (but hard) act of listening. Check in with your teams beyond the to do list to see how they’re really doing. And support them accordingly.You don’t have to be a therapist but you do need to be a human being.Remember humans?—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.Podcast Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Mental Health at Work01:15 Carin’s Background and Work02:57 The Importance of Compassion in Management04:20 Current Mental Health Landscape in the Workplace06:09 Hyperbole and Reality in Mental Health Discussions08:24 Managing External Stressors10:56 The Role of Boundaries in Work-Life Balance12:10 Finding Joy in Work and Community14:39 The Shift from Self-Care to Community Care18:17 Realistic Expectations of Work22:05 The Role of Managers in Employee Well-Being25:19 Understanding What We Bring to Work27:20 The Future of Education and Work30:00 The Impact of AI on Work and Mental Health35:54 Finding Calm in Chaos39:08 The Role of Managers in Employee Well-Being43:21 Compassion vs. Empathy in Leadership46:44 Defining Well-Being in the Workplace51:44 Creating a Supportive Work EnvironmentYou can follow Carin on LinkedIn. And check out her Medium newsletter at carinisabelknoop.medium.com.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Carin to our audience:Can you share some of those little moments that you have seen at work or do at work, little tricks that help you make things better? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Be careful what you wish for.You may aspire to an executive job, maybe even the C-suite. And there’s certainly a lot of good that can come with that kind of role.But it ain’t all sunshine and roses.That’s certainly been the experience for Erica Rooney, this week’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® Podcast. Erica is an author, speaker, coach and fractional CPO who spent years climbing the corporate ladder, only to find herself asking, “why exactly did I want this craziness?”The work was intense and nearly never-ending. The system felt rigged against her (and other women leaders). And her ability to balance all of that with her role as a mom was simply a pipe dream.It was her then 2-year-old daughter who ultimately inspired Erica to choose a better path. She realized she did not want her child to go through what she was dealing with. So, Erica created something new so she could change the world for the better.Now, it’s her mission to help more woman get into power and stay there. This is how things will change. And if you spend more than 2 minutes with Erica, you will 1000 percent believe she can make this happen. She’s smart, strong and full of an infectious energy for her work.She’s written a book, “Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors” that speaks to much of her experience. Some of here key points include:🐱 Language matters and shapes culture. “People leader” says something very different from manager. “Works with” is not the same as “works for.” So choose your words appropriately.🐱 Ditch the highlight reel style of communication and be willing to share some of the tough stuff. You’re only setting others up for failure if you tell them the bar is Insta-level perfection.🐱 Let people work where, when and how they work most effectively. And judge folks based on outcomes. Erica would love to see the 40-hour workweek become obsolete. Me too.🐱 Lastly, she is a big proponent of full pay transparency. It’s hard to level up a system if the system hides everyone’s level.Nothing to hide here. Erica has a ton of ideas for how to make work better, whether you’re in the c-suite or just getting started.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.—You can follow Erica on LinkedIn. And check out ericaandersonrooney.com to learn more about her work and her book. You can also explore her community for women leaders at joinhercollective.com.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Erica to our audience:Do you disagree with anything I said? Am I wrong? Or what do you think about my perspective? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

People say we’re addicted to our phones, but I think it’s deeper than that. We’re addicted to the absence of silence.The idea of spending one quiet minute alone with our thoughts terrifies us. So we grab our distraction devices and keep the inner voices at bay for a little longer.It’s hard to know who we really are if we never listen to those voices. And how could we possibly know what we want from life if we don’t know who we are?So, we end up chasing someone else’s dream. Our family’s, our friend’s, that person on TikTok who just seems like they have it all together, you know?We’re always hungry, never satisfied.If we want to get clear on what we actually want, we need to sit in silence and spend some time in the muck, according to Bonnie Wan, former ad agency strategy executive and author of The Life Brief.The muck is where truth lives. Where our intuition lives. Where clarity emerges.This is the heart of the Life Brief process. First we get messy. Then we get clear. Then we get active. Just like agency folks have done with clients for years.The tools we’ve used to serve our clients are the same tools that will allow us to live the life we truly want. And do the work we were meant to do. Work that AI can never do—deep, intuitive work that solves real problems.Do we really want to spend our time cranking out more mindless “content?” We are meant for so much more.If you want to explore what that could look like, you should reach out to Bonnie about her January virtual retreat. And you should absolutely read her book—it’s amazing.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Bonnie on LinkedIn. And check out thelifebrief.com to learn more about her book and the awesome work she’s doing.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Bonnie to our audience:What matters most to you? You cannot do it all, but you can do all that matters. Are you clear about what matters most to you?To watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

There was a 4 inch gap between the bottom of the couch and the floor in the storage closet turned office 3 of us shared at Wunderman many years ago.So naturally, that space became the “goal” when we played hockey with a crumpled up piece of paper and a couple of old sticks.I don’t remember how many games I won back then but I do remember creating a ton of work I’m really proud of to this day. We all did.Because we (and our bosses) knew that those impromptu games were part of our jobs. Play time equals “let the junk in your head jostle around for a bit so it can turn into an interesting nugget or two” time.And we knew we wouldn’t be judged for taking that time. In today’s language, this would be called psychological safety. Back then, it was just a basic understanding of how creative brains work.This is the kind of behavior Jaime Raul Zepeda recognizes in his role as EVP at Best Companies Group. The best places to work are the ones who provide psychological safety, where leaders are vulnerable and understand what their teams need. Because they ask.We need work to be more like this again. We’ve turned it into a hyper-optimized s**t-show of efficiency but we don’t even know why we do half of what we do.We need to be less busy and more thoughtful.Maybe I should stop coaching folks and just show up at companies with a few hockey sticks and some crumpled up paper.Hmm…Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Jaime on LinkedIn. And check out his company’s site at bestcompaniesgroup.com to learn more about their best places to work programs.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Jaime to our audience:When’s the last time you asked your team what it was like to work at your organization, and took some actionable steps on that data to make it better? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

If you want remote work to work you have to work at it.You can’t just show up and expect it to be the same as in office. It’s not the same. You’ve only got 2 of your 5 senses working together. You can’t just strike up a casual conversation with the person next to you. You can’t walk the halls as a leader and feel what’s going on.That doesn’t mean it can’t work. It absolutely can. Plenty of companies are doing it right, right now.But they’ve put in the work. And Tim Currie has put in the work to figure out what work needs to be put in. Tim is currently Chief Strategy Officer at In Balance IT in the Chicago area.His book, Swift Trust, is all about how to build connections that go beyond the surface level BS that keeps us stuck in tactical mode.Want to do real, meaningful work? Here’s what leaders can do that actually helps:🐱 Create “in-between” moments online to build rapport. Use non-work channels on Slack, Teams, etc to connect over sports, movies, music, cats. Hit someone up to talk about how they’re doing, not what they’re doing.🐱 Shift your one-on-ones from task-focused check-ins (that’s what email is for) to relational coaching sessions.🐱 Become an internal influencer, using short videos and social media to keep teams in the loop and remind them you’re a real human who actually exists.🐱 Give your big events (like all-hands) some production value. Invest some time and money in making those meetings engaging and worthwhile.Remote work works. But not the way most of us are doing it. The good news is, none of the stuff Tim mentions is all that hard.What do you think? What’s helped make remote work more workable for you?—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can follow Tim on LinkedIn. And check out swifttrustbook.com to learn more about how to make remote work, work.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Tim to our audience:What are the authentic moments, the memories, the anecdotes that live in your consciousness about past work experience with colleagues that you don’t think you could have today? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Chaos is a candy store.The disorienting swirl, a chance to be useful.We’re swimming in that swirl right now. AI, layoffs, mergers, tariffs, the headlines bonking us on the head every time we try to surface.We need a lifeline. No, scratch that. We need to become a lifeline.That’s how this works. “They” are not going to save us. We are. And in the midst of the madness, opportunity is everywhere.CB Bowman Ottomanelli has been gobbling up the chaos candy for much of her life. Finding ways to serve others when we need it most. How does she see the candy when most of us are getting clobbered?Strategic courage. She’s written books about it and has more on the way. It starts with framing change as an experiment, where learning is the primary goal. Life is a university. As we learn, we’re able to make small calculated leaps, which she calls Microcourage™.Don’t leap without a net though. Make sure you have a personal board of directors to keep you honest and keep you from falling back into the swirl.Who would be on your board?—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can follow CB on LinkedIn. And check out her site at courage-consulting.com. You should also visit acec-association.org to learn more about the executive coaching organization she created.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from CB to our audience:When is the last time you gave yourself permission to have strategic coverage? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

All organizations are dysfunctional.Those are the words of Michael Wade, consultant, advisor, author and former Equal Employment Opportunity Administrator for the City of Phoenix. And I tend to agree with him.We’re just not that good at coming together to do stuff. We get in our way. We play politics. We blame. And we forget why we’re even doing the damn thing in the first place.His solution? Three words: “wait a minute.”Remember waiting? Pressing pause for a second to look inward, to see if we’re on the right track, to think. Remember thinking?🐱 Imagine waiting a minute before deciding to redo the entire deck when all it needs is a few word changes. 🐱 Imagine waiting a minute before laying people off and realizing you can cut costs in a different way. 🐱 Imaging waiting a minute before scheduling a meeting that could easily be an email.A few “wait a minutes” a day could save us hours of chasing down bad decisions. And help us do everything better than we’re doing it right now.Here’s a good decision. Listen to Michael. He really knows his stuff.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the ProHuman Foundation, where Michael is an advisor.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can follow Michael on LinkedIn. And check out his site at execupunditconsulting.com. And be sure to read his Substack newsletter as well. It’s awesome.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Michael to our audience:How can you better connect with other people? What can you do to help the community? What can you do to help other people? Because there are people out there who are hurting. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

It’s 3am. You wake up to discover you’re on the couch, cuddling with your laptop. You cringe, ugh, another night wasted, working through dinner, ignoring your family. You should get to bed and grab a few good hours before the day starts up again.But then. Hey, it wouldn’t hurt to just crack that laptop open for a minute, make sure no critical emails have come through. I’ll just skim through a few to make sure…“Good morning, honey!”What? Who? Where? You glance at your phone—it’s 7am. You’re still on the couch. Spooning the laptop again. Your spouse doesn’t bat an eyelash. Just another Tuesday.F%ck.This is work addiction. It’s insanely common. And it’s where MaryBeth Hyland was not so long ago. Now, she helps folks fuel their ambition in a healthier way. By connecting to what matters most—our core values. Finding the stuff that truly energizes us and doing more of it.When we do that, we don’t feel the need to chase some invisible, unattainable marker of success into the wee hours each night. We feel full at the end of the day. We feel excited to share ourselves with family, friends, our pets, our other interests (wait, we can have those?!)MaryBeth has traveled this road and come out the other side thriving. Just check out the view behind her on the video version of this episode to see how well things are going.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Mary Beth on LinkedIn. And check out her site at sparkvisionnow.com to learn more about the awesome work she’s doing and get a free values assessment.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Mary Beth to our audience:What is the core value that’s serving you most in this season of your life?To watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

What if the problem with our politics is also the problem with our workplaces?Our inability to truly see the people around us, keeping us from doing anything meaningful.They’re far right, far left, too hardline, too accommodating, stupid, evil, “the problem.”They’re account, creative, production, legal, stupid, clueless, “the problem.”What if “us vs. them” became “what can I learn from someone I disagree with?”Wilk Wilkinson is trying to make this “what if” real, with his podcast “Derate the Hate,” as an advisor to the ProHuman Foundation and in his role as Director of Media Operations at Braver Angels.The key is focusing on shared purpose. Something I find a lot of common ground on when I talk with folks I disagree with politically.And something that workplaces need to do a much better job of creating. What was the purpose at most of ad agencies I’ve worked at? No idea. And that’s a problem.I invite each listener to start by getting clear on your own purpose. In life and at work. Why do you show up each day? What would the best day look like? What would the worst?Once you answer those questions, start talking to the folks around you. And more importantly, start listening.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the ProHuman Foundation, where Wilk is an advisor.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.—You can follow Wilk on LinkedIn. And check out deratethehate.com to learn more about his work and check out his podcast.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Wilk to our audience:When you think about the 2,080 hours a year you’re putting into your current job, is that the place where you’re going to fulfill the purpose that you have in life? And if not, is there a way for you in your mind to make that the most meaningful place that you can be to spend your working life?If you would like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

There’s a controversial piece making its way around the interwebs right now, called “The Great Feminization” by Helen Andrews.Despite its edgy title and often-incorrect conclusions (in my opinion), it’s generating some useful conversation.How can men and women work together in a way that is beneficial to all?Rachel Wallis Andreasson brings a POV to this topic informed by 30+ years as a leader. And she collaborated with 3 other authors to create The Sixth Level, a book about leadership that infuses a distinctly female perspective into this conversation.The Sixth Level model is derived from the narratives of 16 women leaders as seen through the lens of Self-in-Relation theory, which defines the psychology of women as oriented to connection and care.🐱 It creates a framework for creating cultures where no one wants to leave🐱 Reframes “soft skills” as leadership strengths🐱 Introduces four core differentiators: intrinsic motivation, mutuality, justness, and ingenuityWe also touched on the frustrating truth that a lot of “feminine” work is not valued very highly. Caretaking, teaching, social work, etc.I think we’d do well to bring the full spectrum of approaches to the table. From the “feminine” to the “masculine” and anything in between. Let’s see what we learn.Personally, I’m grateful that work cultures have evolved to a place where I can be more vulnerable, more caring and more connected in my approach. If you prefer the boiler room world, have at it.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Rachel on LinkedIn. And check out thesixthlevel.com to learn more about her book and the philosophy behind it.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Rachel to our audience:Who could you reach out to today that you have a difference of opinion with, and you just want to have a conversation and start reconnecting?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

How you feel about human nature tells you everything you need to know about leadership.If you think human nature has stayed constant over the years, you’ll find great value in the words of Socrates, Confucius, Jesus, Shakespeare and Sarah Breedlove (the first self-made black woman millionaire in the US).If you think human nature has evolved over time, you’ll see little point in the wisdom of the past and constantly seek out new thinking to guide your approach.Richard Battle falls firmly into the first camp. And he’s written several books—including his latest, AmeriCANS Who Made America!, spotlighting past wisdom for our present and future benefit. And we talked about a bunch of it on this week’s podcast.🐱 How his great-great grandmother’s 100+ year old table showed him that our actions today can influence folks in the next century.🐱 How a four-minute radio interview in the back office of a car dealership helped a man grieving the loss of his daughter.🐱 How an early “dead end job” can teach our future self more about leadership than most modern day “gurus.”In fact, I can’t help but wonder if most gurus take advantage of those who believe in an ever-changing human nature, shellacking ancient wisdom with buzzwords and bullet points for easy consumption.No buzzwords here. Just a fresh look at some old-school truths that can help us lead better right now.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can follow Richard on LinkedIn. And check out his site at RichardBattle.com where you can learn more about each of his 12 books.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Richard to our audience:Where do you want to be at the end of your work life? And are you taking steps to get there?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Should we get rid of HR?That’s the bold suggestion put forth by Jamie Gutfreund, this week’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast.Why get rid of it? Because it’s become a fear-based function that stifles creativity, prevents honest conversations and enforces a “referee” culture that treats team members like children vs. adults who are capable of sorting through hard stuff on their own.What would be build in its place? Great question. Jamie and I explore that and more during our conversation. We touch on:🐱 Generational differences at work🐱 What real psychological safety looks like🐱 How to balance different levels of ambition within a team, including how those folks are compensated🐱 The influence of the creator economy on how we work and get our messages out to the world🐱 The role of executive leadership in driving culture and how no HR initiative can overcome the tone set by the C-suiteThe main takeaway? Let’s be adults and let’s get out of own way already.Sounds pretty freakin’ awesome to me. Who’s in?—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can follow Jamie on LinkedIn. And check out her column in Forbes about the creator economy.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Jamie to our audience:Why do we judge people in the workplace solely on their state of ambition? Are we saying that everyone has to be equally ambitious? What if I just want to go to work till five o’clock and I’m okay being compensated and rewarded based on those expectations?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Here’s what you’re admitting when you don’t develop your talent.🐱 You’re admitting you don’t expect people to hang around very long.🐱 You’re admitting you’re willing to let people just figure crap out on the job no matter how long it takes or how many mistakes get made.🐱 You’re admitting that there’s nothing special about the work you do—any schmo off the street can jump in and deliver on day one.🐱 You’re admitting you’re unaware of the cost of people figuring crap out on the job. Or the cost of high turnover. Or the cost of having an undifferentiated, commoditized work product.🐱 You’re admitting that any messaging you have on your site or internally around building a strong culture is performative BS.Karen Crane knows a thing or fifty about talent development. She is a coach and talent consultant who spent years helping ad agencies build award-winning teams.And she and I share a frustration that so many agencies fall short in this area. F*ck around a find out seems to be the most popular training methodology.And it’s a damn shame because the industry is filled with smart, clever problem solvers who are capable of designing a thousand ways to help people grow in their careers.But… we’re too busy, it’s too expensive, clients are so demanding…. blah, blah, blah.Sure. Yes. Understood.Those are the exact reasons you need to do it. So you’re less busy on nonsense work and focused more on work that matters. So you get paid more, because you work on higher value projects. So your clients are happier, because your teams are delivering work at a level they never even thought was possible.That’s what happens when you develop your talent.Admit it: sounds totally worth it, right?Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Karen on LinkedIn. And check out her site at coachkarencrane.com and her Substack newsletter at karencrane.substack.com. They’re both filled with awesome stuff.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Karen to our audience:What does a desuckified workplace look like? What do you need to be unsuckified at work?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Imagine if we were more civil at work.Not more polite. Politeness is BS. Civil. From the Latin, Civitas. Meaning citizen. A well-functioning member of society.Societies work when we have hard conversations. When we bring a shared respect for our common humanity. When we’re willing to offend. And be offended.This is not where we are right now. As a society or at work.We avoid the hard conversations. We substitute through-our-teeth agreement for respect. We turn offense into passive aggression.Layer that in with a culture that rewards a near-constant state of navel gazing and the results aren’t pretty.Lexi Hudson knows we can do better. And she wrote a book, “The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves” that tells us how.It’s not about following a rigid set of rules. It’s about leaning into time-tested wisdom that has been at the center of great societal advances, from Ancient Greece to the modern civil rights movement.Lexi’s translation for today’s world?Be less like Larry David, angling for every scrap of ego-fuel we can find no matter the cost to others.Be more like her grandmother, Margaret. A magnanimous soul, self-composed, generous, other-oriented and real.—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the ProHuman Foundation, where Lexi is an advisor.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Lexi on LinkedIn. And check out her Substack newsletter at civic-renaissance.com, an ongoing conversation on the power of civility to help us create the good life.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Lexi to our audience:What are the kinds of incivility that people are experiencing in the workplace right now and to what extent has that to do with being online and not in person in recent years?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Radical Moderation.Sounds like an oxymoron. But it’s actually a way we can save our world and our workplaces from whatever the hell it is we’re all going through right now.We’re in a low trust, high volatility time. And it affects everything. From the most horrific news headlines to the way we relate to the person in the desk across from us. Our armor is up. Which isn’t exactly conducive to conversation or collaboration.Lauren Hall is an author, speaker, professor, university administrator and coiner of the “radical moderation” term. We talked on this week’s podcast about how embracing this mindset can help us connect more deeply with everyone in our lives.It starts with avoiding binary thinking. Life is lived in the gray, no matter what your social media algorithms try to tell you.From there, we need to understand issues in their full complexity.To do that, we need to be curious and humble, especially when we’re confronted with ideas we don’t like.Lauren gives one of the most incredible examples of someone who chose to embrace those ideals—Darryl Davis. A black man who has spoken with dozens of KKK members and influenced many to renounce their white supremacist views. His story is remarkable.I don’t expect most of us to live up to the model of someone like Daryl. But man, wouldn’t the world be a better place if we tried?Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the Prohuman Foundation where Lauren is an advisor.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Lauren on LinkedIn. And check out her Substack, The Radical Moderate’s Guide to Life (Lauren Hall). It’s the perfect antidote to our click-bait riddled feeds.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Lauren to our audience:Are you happy with the politics that we have now? Do you feel as though what's happening is serving our communities?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a terrible boss.Nice, I see lots of hands. Great.Now raise your hand if you’ve ever been a terrible boss.If your hand isn’t still up, you’re lying to yourself.The moment we start leading others, we start finding ways to be bad at it. Not because we suck. Because we’re human. And this is how we learn.F*ck around a find out, right?Mita Mallick would like all of us to find out more quickly. Yes, we’re going to be crappy at times. But she’s done a lot of work to define our most craptastic tendencies so we can recognize them and stop doing them sooner.I could’ve used Mita’s wisdom many times in my own career. Like that time I told a person on my team I didn’t really care for their design style. Ugh.Her new book, “The Devil Emails at Midnight: What Good Leaders Can Learn from Bad Bosses,” outlines the (lucky) 13 types of bad bosses. So we can stop being most of them and start being who our teams need us to be.Here are a few. Do you recognize any of these in yourself?🙀 "Medusa": Screaming, public humiliation, throwing objects🙀 "The Napper": Disengaged, falling asleep in meetings🙀 "Tony Soprano": Career-threatening, talent-hoarding🙀 "The Cheerleader": Toxic positivity, unrealistic expectationsMita even talks about her own experience as a “terrible” boss and what she’s learned since then. My impression? I think she’d make a great boss. I know she was an amazing guest.Let the desuckifying begin. Here’s Mita.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Mita on LinkedIn. And check out her site, where you can learn about all the cool work she’s doing and find a link to pre-order her book, “The Devil Emails at Midnight”, which launches in September 30th.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Mita to our audience:Are you willing to admit when you've been a bad boss, if you're honest?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Is therapy culture destroying us?Pushing us to analyze every moment as a potential trauma. Turning minor slights into rage and sadness. Making us feel good about feeling bad all the time.Fred Luskin has a different idea. Forgiveness. He’s been studying it for over 30 years and the biggest takeaway? We can deal with 99% of the crap that comes our way. Feel the feeling, sure. Do some self soothing… vent to a friend, go for a run, eat a cookie. But then forgive and move on.Resentment is an addiction. Fred should know. He held onto resentment from a painful experience for years until his wife told him “it ain’t that pleasant living with you.” Fred found a way to forgive what happened and turned that energy into the Stanford Forgiveness Project, doing research on methods to help others forgive.Forgiveness is a gift to yourself. A decision to take ownership of how you feel and refuse to let the behavior of others drag you down.Imagine if we took this advice at work. Letting the petty BS slide and allowing ourselves to truly connect with people. We’re all dicks sometimes. Let’s own that and do cool s**t together.This is what emotional intelligence looks like. And it’s the thing that will keep us human as AI does whatever the hell it’s gonna do.You wanna get mad about it? Feel free. But don’t hold onto that feeling for too long. It’ll ruin you.As Fred says, “take the blinders off and realize what a gift life is.”I couldn’t agree more.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the ProHuman Foundation, where Fred is an advisor.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Fred on LinkedIn. And check out his site at fredluskin.com where you can learn more about his books, including “The Forgive for Good Recovery Workbook.”If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Fred to our audience:How can you take the blinders off your life so that you stop taking so much of the good in your life for granted?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

The best work I’ve ever done started with laughter.Laughing at the boss’s indecisiveness.Laughing at our friend whooping our butts at Koosh basketball and walking away with a wad of ones that would make a stripper blush.Laughing at the dog farting in our office.Laughter is like creatine for your productivity muscles. I once laughed so hard I threw my back out and went on a months-long script writing binge high on Icy Hot fumes.Laughter is the greatest thing ever. And yet most of our workplaces are sterile, saccharine and stupefying.Or, as my guest Rob Feld says on this week’s podcast episode, “they’re not human environments.” Rob is a filmmaker whose latest project Jesters and Fools brings humor to the often-touchy topic of political polarization. It’s freakin’ fantastic.And Rob’s right about our workplaces—too many are simply not human. How can we possibly laugh in a such an environment? How can we create or connect to the truths that lead to interesting new things? How can we see our co-workers as fellow juicy meat bags filled with interesting (and different!) points of view?The truth is, too often, we don’t. We don’t see each other as people, but as obstacles to getting what we want. We try to steamroll our thoughts through the system instead of coming back to the one human thing that has brought us together since the first caveman drew a stick figure rabbi and priest walking into a bar.Laughter. It’s not just medicine. It’s crack for collaboration. And corporate profits. Yet for some reason, we’ve decided we don’t want that.I do. Rob does. What about you?—Welcome to the DesuckifyWork podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the ProHuman Foundation, where Rob is an advisor.(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can learn more about Rob’s movie at jestersandfools.com. And check out his site at gothamarts.com.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Rob to our audience:Do you think you could find more humor in life's annoyances than you currently do?To watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

If you want your people to work harder, try helping them feel more welcome.You know, the exact opposite of how most companies feel when you step through the doors. So many offices are sterile, inhuman habitats, designed to crush souls while cranking up productivity.But here’s the rub: crushed souls won’t stay productive for very long. You can squeeze so much blood from a stone until that stone is so tired and pissed off it decides to roll itself right out the door and write a zero star Glassdoor review.What if people at your company felt like someone walking into a Disney Resort? Or The Cosmopolitan in Vegas? Or the Rupp Arena at the University of Kentucky for a game against Louisville?These are the places where Taylor Scott honed his hospitality craft. Working at Disney and Cosmopolitan and growing up in Kentucky as a rabid basketball fan and athlete. Now, he helps others bring that same level of welcome into their own businesses.What changes when you lead with hospitality and people actually feel welcome? Everything.🐱 People will go all in to support your mission🐱 People feel comfortable sharing more of their strengths and passions🐱 People feel inspired to push beyond their self-imposed limits🐱 People start bringing that hospitality to their own teams and to your customersThat’s how you get to real, lasting productivity. And that’s how you create workplaces the light people up like the Magic Kingdom or the chandeliers at Cosmo.You’ll feel lit up after listening to Taylor, I guarantee it.——Welcome to the DesuckifyWork podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can follow Taylor on LinkedIn. And check out his site at leadwithhospitality.com where you can learn more about his awesome work and his eye opening books.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Taylor to our audience:(Actually three questions that help you create your purpose statement)* What are your strengths?* What breaks your heart?* Who do you want to help?Purpose Statement: My personal purpose is to give my (fill-in-the-blank strengths), to help (fill-in-the-blank people) achieve (fill-in-the-blank thing).If you’d like to listen to the episode on YouTube, please click here: Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

“My work should speak for itself.”Yeah, sorry, it doesn’t. Even Jesus had a PR guy. Four of them, actually (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).So what makes you think you’re so special?None of us are. Which means all of us have to put the work in to make ourselves visible. Good thing Sue Barber already did a bunch of the work for us. Her book, The Visibility Factor, outlines the stuff we can do to get others to take notice of our awesomeness.She had to learn the hard way, when a mentor called her out for being “invisible” as an executive with Kraft Heinz.Being invisible may sound like a fun superpower but it sucks at work. You get overlooked for the good assignments and promotions and you get stuck playing short field on the company softball team.Sue and I talked about how you can step up your visibility game without bragging or sucking up to the boss.🐱 Observe others who do it well🐱 Offer to help team members more often🐱 Share ideas in meetings and ask for input🐱 Invite key team members to important meetings to see you in action🐱 Talk about your cats (okay, that one’s from me)We talk about a lot more than cats during our conversation. Sue really knows her stuff.Welcome to the DesuckifyWork podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Sue on LinkedIn. And check out her site at susanmbarber.com—where you can learn more about her book, her podcast and all the awesome work she’s doing, including this free guide to help introverts be more visible at work.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Sue to our audience:What are you doing to be visible? Do people know you? Do they know what you’re doing?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

You can’t fix collaboration issues with software.Some tools actually make things worse, stressing the nervous system and putting us in a perpetual state of fight of flight. Others are so damn confusing we pretend they don’t exist until Stu from HR sends us a stern reminder email.Someone should tell Stu (and the rest of us) to step away from Outlook and have some actual conversations with people.That’s the advice Mark Kenny would give. Mark is a speaker, author and teamwork strategist—and today’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast.Mark believes collaboration gets better when we have the conversations we’ve been avoiding. When we create relationships with folks across the organization, with no agenda. When we treat people like human beings, not obstacles or a means to an end.When we do all that, work sucks a whole lot less.🐱 We get more useful stuff done.🐱 We gain an edge on competitors who are still praying that Slack and Teams will save the day.🐱 And we unlock group intelligence to solve seemingly unsolvable challenges, like the group of eight observatories around the world who came together to create a massive, collective “telescope” to take the first picture ever of a black hole. An image no single telescope could ever capture.You don’t need a telescope to observe Mark’s wisdom during this conversation.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Mark on LinkedIn. And check out his site at markskenny.com.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Mark to our audience:When was the last time your team had a conversation you've never had before, but really needed to? Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Hiring sucks.It sucks for the company. It sucks for the candidates. It sucks for ai notetakers who are forced to generate useful bullet points from the inane interviews that take place in almost every corner of corporate America. “Sally and Jethro discussed the importance of the company’s Third-Thursday pizza parties and agreed that pineapple is actually an acceptable topping.”Who you bring into your organization affects everything. From culture to competitiveness to the quality of the jokes on your slack channels. But we often treat hiring like a chore. Or an afterthought. What if we made it a strategic priority and stripped all the suck out of the experience?That’s Everett Reiss’ mission. He co-founded Jane HR to create a more human approach to hiring. Sounds pretty cool to me.🐱 They create detailed "ideal candidate profiles" so you actually know who you’re looking for instead of just relying on vibes.🐱 They design job descriptions that are actually relevant to the person reading it, not just the legal compliance team.🐱 They use technology to improve human connection, not replace it.🐱 They align incentives with actual hiring needs so companies aren’t wasting everyone’s time creating BS “ghost jobs” that fill up around half of most job listing sites.We also talked about ways candidates can make their own experience less tortuous. Like prioritizing applications where you have 1st or 2nd degree connections. And focusing on relationship-building (coffees, lunches, zoom chats) vs. stabbing every apply button you see on LinkedIn or Indeed.There was no stabbing during this conversation. Just a fun chat with a guy who’s putting great work into the world.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.——You can follow Everett on LinkedIn. And check out Jane’s site at Jane.hr.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!——Bonus question from Everett to our audience:What is the world that you want to live in and want to be creating? And how are you actually contributing to the creation of that world?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Remember when advertising was fun?It wasn’t that long ago, really. You’d spend your days goofing off, grinding on the work and playfully exploring new possibilities for your clients. It was pretty damn cool.What happened?🐱 Creativity and fun have been squeezed out by business pressures and risk-aversion🐱 Collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas between departments has decreased🐱 Speed is overemphasized at the expense of thoughtful creative development🐱 There is a lack of trust/psychological safety to take creative risks🐱 Many workplaces have become joyless and overly constrained, with fear of lawsuits and HR issues around potentially offensive contentSome of the funniest jokes or stories I’ve heard are the ones that made me uncomfortable. Should I be laughing at this? Yes. Because you don’t have a choice. Laughter is the most pure human reaction. It can’t be restrained. Or if you try you’re likely to piss your pants or let out one of those awkward farts that shuts a room down, fast.Brands that get this are the ones who make lifelong connections with people. They realize the best way to sell stuff to people is to help them see that you are people too. Real, awkward, fumbling. Insightful, hopeful, grateful.The 3 co-founders of Hackett Brooks get this. And they’re building an agency to help brands use comedy as a platform for creating work that makes people laugh, cry or fart their way into brand love and loyalty.Robb Hittner, Jordan Atlas and Steve Mallory are quite funny guys. But their work isn’t just about crafting funny spots. It’s about infusing the whole work experience with comedy thinking. It’s about making work itself fun.How do they do it?By taking everything an agency does and inverting it. It starts with the team itself. It’s not the typical collection of writers and art directors. It’s folks from sketch comedy, scripted TV and improv working alongside traditional brand talent. And it’s all about finding the inherent humor in a brand or product, not stapling jokes on top of an unfunny message.Their mission?🐱 To elevate comedy/humor as a respected business strategy and creative approach🐱 To create workplaces where all employees can contribute creatively, not just "creatives"🐱 To develop brand communications people actively seek out and share🐱 And, here’s my favorite: To bring more joy and laughter into work and advertisingWe need more funny in the world.Life is hard, heavy, confusing, frustrating and unfair. The only way we survive is if we can laugh at all of it.We had more than a few laughs during our conversation. Rob, Jordan and Steve feel like friends you’ve had for ages, as soon as you meet them.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Hackett Brooks on LinkedIn. And check out their site at hackettbrooks.com to learn more about their approach. You can also send an email to [email protected] if you’d like to connect with the team.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from the guys to our audience:There is a lot of hope around our ability to make work better in the DesuckifyWork® podcast episodes. For people who listen, does that hope feel real? Where does it sit on a scale of 1 to 10?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

🐱 Hollywood has created nearly 500,000 movies.🐱 It has developed over 10,000 TV shows.🐱 It has entertained literally billions of people over the years.🐱 And generated at least $5 trillion in revenue since its inception.And it did all of this using a remote and hybrid workforce. Even before we had machines on every desk and in every pocket, folks were dreaming, writing and strategizing wherever the heck they wanted. And then coming together to collaborate and create TV and movie magic in person.Imagine that.Now imagine someone steeped in Hollywood’s culture creating an app that helps you be more productive and find more fulfillment in your work every day. Meet Steven Puri, an entrepreneur with a background in tech that led him to a career in digital effects that took a left turn into work as a studio exec with DreamWorks and Fox.You know, the typical path.His platform, called Sukha (Sanskrit for “the good place”), is like a breath of fresh air for folks trying to make the remote/hybrid thing work in a distraction filled universe. It helps you focus, find your vibe with the right music and uses AI to offer personalized work recommendations based on your habits and patterns. It does a whole bunch of other cools stuff too.Steven and I also dug into the importance of great leadership as teams navigate this nutty world that literally no one has a firm grasp on, despite all the pontificating we see on LinkedIn and elsewhere.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Steven on LinkedIn. And check out Sukha’s site at thesukha.co. Your blood pressure will drop 10 points just by visiting.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Steven to our audience:What is the thing that you on your deathbed will be very proud that you've done? And if you haven't done it, why not?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

What role does faith play at work?If you’d asked me 15 years ago I’d probably have scolded you for even asking such a crazy question. Keep your faith out of my peanut butter, dammit.Now? I’m not so sure.Mai Moore is certain that keeping faith out of the workplace is keeping the suck firmly in place. Mai is the founder of two social impact companies and previously spent 20 years in the tech space.How can we possibly bring our whole selves to work if we’re ditching this giant piece of ourselves at the door each day? This is personal for Mai, as her faith has helped her through some incredibly tough times, including being homeless.So how do we bring this topic into the workplace without alienating everyone?🐱 We need to create space for honest, respectful conversations around faith and spirituality.🐱 We need to make room for all belief systems, including the lack of belief.🐱 We need to understand our customers better, many of whom place faith or spirituality at the center of their lives.We dig into all the nooks and crannies of this and more during our conversation. We touch on the idea of vulnerability at work, lifting up ideas from everyone (not just leaders) and the importance of doing work that makes an impact on something we actually care about.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.—————You can follow Mai on LinkedIn. And check out her site at maimoore.com, where you can learn more about all the good stuff she’s putting into the world.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!Bye, everyone!—————Bonus question from Mai to our audience:“As my daughter says, who are you?”If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. #desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #executivecoaching #faithatwork #diversity #authenticityatwork Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

What’s a person worth?If we based the answer on our own self assessments, not much.And then we bring that “not much” feeling everywhere we go, including work. Where we’re expected to influence people, lead people inspire people. And we wonder why we struggle.“Not much” has a scent. So strong it can actually travel through Zoom screens.. It’s also contagious. Infecting everyone who gets a whiff with a bit more “not much” than they already bring to the table.It’s tough to do useful, meaningful things when you’re swimming in the “not much” soup. If only we could add some ingredients to create a delightfully hearty “more than enough” stew.Endre Hoffman (aka The Doctor of Self Worth) is the man with those ingredients. All you have to do is a little time travel to get what you need.That’s what NLP (neurolinguistic programming) is all about, Endre’s primary tool for helping folks see how good they really are. A reframing of our life story that allows us to release the dickhead voice that’s been holding us back and create a new voice that says things like, “you’re alright, man” and “you’re actually kinda smart, lady.”Endre had his own, long, exhaustive journey through dozens of countries and over a hundred thousand dollars before he finally found the ingredients to turn his life around, after years of childhood trauma and a struggling marriage kept him stuck in the “not much” story.Now, he helps people do the same. From high-powered execs to first-time entrepreneurs. His work helps people get out of the victim mindset and see clearly (often for the first time) just how much agency they have.Endre is a cool dude with an inspiring mission to impact over one million lives. I like the moxie.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Endre on LinkedIn. And check out his site at doctorofselfworth.com where you’ll find a bunch of cool free resources. And a cat pic too!If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams find their superpower (aka their pudding) so they can bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session.Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Endre to our audience:How long will you postpone having that conversation where you can finally get to the root of your challenges and the problem that you have created? Will you do it this year, In five years' time?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here. #desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #executivecoaching #selfworth #nlp #changeyourstory Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

If you’re waiting for someone to come and save you from a sucky work life, it may be a while.This is the cold, hard and much needed truth from Elizabeth Lotardo, today’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® Podcast.Elizabeth is the author of "Leading Yourself: Find More Joy, Meaning, and Opportunities in the Job You Already Have (Despite Imperfect Bosses, Weird Economies, Lethargic Coworkers, Annoying Systems, and Too Many Deliverables)“, she’s also an employee engagement consultant and a LinkedIn Learning instructor.Her superpower (her pudding, in my lingo) is an optimal blend of straight talk and empathy. So messages get through and you feel inspired to do something about it.Her message to those looking to desuckify work?🐱 Focus on what you can control vs. blaming external factors.🐱 Change your “load-bearing beliefs” about work that are keeping you stuck. Like thinking “work sucks” for instance.🐱 Don’t tolerate abuse, but make the most of typical work challenges, reframing them as opportunities for learning and growth.🐱 Ditch the traditional employee engagement surveys (like Gallup) and try one rooted in a self-leadership perspective.The big takeaway? Take ownership of your career. No one else will. And no one will ever care about it as much as you.Tough love? Maybe. But love nonetheless.I loved this conversation with Elizabeth. And I think you will too.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn. And check out her site at elizabethlotardo.com. Also, be sure to grab a copy of her book, it’s awesome.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams find their superpower (aka their pudding) so they can bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session.Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Elizabeth to our audience:What is really wrong? What really sucks? Because we can sit in this narrative of it sucks and it's unfair and I don't like it. But until you can zoom in on the specific thing and take a self-leadership approach to changing it, it's not going to change. So I think my question would be, zoom in on your gnarly attitude and figure out what's causing it.If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here.#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #executivecoaching #agency #careerownership #selfleadership Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

If you’re an introvert, you’re going to love Rhonda George-Denniston. You’ll also love her if you’re an extrovert, because she’s awesome. But man, she really sees introverts in a way that the world needs. Rhonda is the Chief Learning & Development Officer at TBWA\Worldwide. She also founded Curiosity Connections, an “un-networking” space that brings people together in a way where everyone feels welcome and seen. With none of the awkward BS of typical networking events. Her own experience as an introvert has created a blueprint for others to follow. She started at TBWA as an executive assistant and created her path at every step since. How’d she do it? 🐱 She showed up. Building a reputation for reliability and getting things done. 🐱 She identified gaps. “Why aren’t we doing this?” And said, “wait, I can do this.”🐱 She perfected her pitch. In deck-crazy industries like advertising, the way forward is through PowerPoint (or Keynote, or Google, or Canva, or whatever the kids are using these days). The programs she and her teams have created invite others to follow her lead. To create opportunities, find their own path and to show up in ways that allow them to shine. Rhonda shines brightly in this conversation. And she introduced me to a term that I absolutely love—“thought life.” Even though mine can be kinda scary at times. (If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin. You can follow Rhonda on LinkedIn. And check out the Curiosity Connections site at curiosityconnections.com.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to dive deep into some of your own challenges at work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session, where we can explore new, desuckified possibilities for your future. Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Rhonda to our audience:What is the loudest voice in your thought life right now? And is it serving you or is it hurting you? (Drop your answers in the comments!)If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here.#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #findyourpudding #executivecoaching #learninganddevelopment #introverts #ownyourcareer #thoughtlife Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

She wrote about leadership and sales. But it’s really a book about living.Jeanne Sparrow, this week’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast is the author of “Fearless Authenticity: Lead Better, Sell More and Speak Sensationally.” She is a delightful human, a masterful storyteller and has (inadvertently?) mapped out the path to a more joyful life.The key?🐱 Knowing yourself deeply and connecting with others on that level.🐱 Understanding your gifts and using them to serve others.🐱 Aligning your actions with your true self, even when things get hard. Especially then.That’s authenticity. Or as Jeanne likes to say, “remembering who you were before the world got its hands on you.”The world feels particularly handsy these days. Thank God Jeanne is here to help us find our way.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Jeanne on LinkedIn. And check out her site at jeannesparrow.com, where you can learn more about her book, her speaking and consulting work and just spend some time getting to know a wonderful person.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to dive deep into some of your own challenges at work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session, where we can explore new, desuckified possibilities for your future.Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Jeanne to our audience:I have a theory, if work sucks for you, that it's also sucks the life out of you. So, in what ways do you feel that work sucking has compromised you in your own path?If you’d like to watch the episode on YouTube, please click here.#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #executivecoaching #authenticity #joy #rememberwhoyouare Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

If you’ve ever been to the theater, you’ve witnessed a masterclass in communication. Each character demonstrating their ability to get what they need (or not) from each other. Creating harmony or sparking conflict. Influencing, irritating, arousing, amusing. All done for the benefit of us, the audience. Complete strangers making us care about the outcome of a make believe situation we knew nothing about just minutes before.It’s magical, really.And it’s the perspective today’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast brings to her communication coaching practice every day. Shana Gold has been helping folks find their voice at work for over 20 years, after spending several years in the world of theater as an actor and director.The lessons she learned play out quite nicely on the corporate stage, whether you’re presenting to a thousand person room, negotiating your next pay package or having a weekly one-on-one:🐱 Shifting from judgment to empathy and discernment🐱 Regulating the nervous system with breath work and sensory awareness🐱 Bringing our outer and inner worlds into alignment🐱 Becoming more in tune with who we’re speaking with, creating genuine connectionSo, next time you go see a show, enjoy the performance. And consider taking a few mental notes as well.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Shana on LinkedIn. And check out her site at shanagoldcoaching.com.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to dive deep into some of your own challenges at work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session, where we can explore new, desuckified possibilities for your future.Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Shana to our audience:What would you say if you weren't afraid of rejection? Who would you be without that fear?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. #desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #findyourcape #executivecoaching #communication #connection #speaking Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

I worked 26 years at ad agencies and never knew there was a thing called Learning & Development (L&D).Like an actual team dedicated to the growth of the people who work there.Huh.It had been my understanding that learning was a thing that happened by having your work pissed on repeatedly, forcing you to come back with so many new ideas that one might actually squeak through unscathed and you’d be invited back for the next gauntlet.You “developed” a thick skin but not much else. Leadership skills, communication, discernment and emotional intelligence?Ha!Thankfully, Jared Andres came on the DesuckifyWork® podcast to share a better way. Jared is an L&D manager at Jane App and previously led L&D at Critical Mass in Calgary. Both places put a lot of effort into helping folks learn and grow.His thoughts?🐱 Less pissing all over the work and more useful feedback.🐱 Less just figure it out and more here are some things to consider🐱 Less assuming you’ll be a good leader because you’re good at something completely unrelated to leading and more actual training🐱 Less stay in your lane and more inviting you to create new lanes that solve the biggest challenges in the organizationHe’s also got thoughts on AI that aren’t the ones you’ve already heard. And he shares a sound effect that reminds us that real, tangible things still have value in our robot world.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin. Here’s Jared.You can follow Jared on LinkedIn. He’s always happy to chat about this stuff.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to dive deep into some of your own challenges at work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session, where we can explore new, desuckified possibilities for your future.Bye, everyone!Bonus question from Jared to our audience:What would you say is the one barrier in your organization that's stopping your leaders from showing up at their best? And why is it there? What's keeping it there?If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. #desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #findyourcape #executivecoaching #advertising #adagency #learninganddevelopment Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Ad agencies are good at 3 things:👏 Building brands👏 Driving sales👏 Making employees so miserable they would prefer to be literally anywhere else, almost as soon as they are hired. (Hence the industry-wide 33% turnover rate)The James Agency in Scottsdale is quite good at the first two. But has failed miserably at the third. Many of their folks have stuck around for over ten years. The CCO has been there since the beginning, 20 years, with agency founder and today’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast, Veronique James (known simply as V to most).What is V doing wrong? Why is she struggling to live up to the precedent set by so many in our industry?She didn’t get the memo.You know, the one that says you should keep business details shrouded in secrecy, even from your top leaders. The one that says accountability is too scary and complicated. The one that says caring deeply about your clients and their business results isn’t important… just focus on the task at hand, brah.V has this nutty idea that having a team aligned around shared values can make the work better. And make working better too.Values like:🐱 Give a s**t🐱 Be yourself🐱 Aspire to be better🐱 Take action🐱 Contribute positivity🐱 Challenge convention🐱 Communicate honestlyValues that allowed the agency to avoid layoffs or pay cuts during COVID. And have led them treat RFPs like actual projects instead of just dropping them into the workflow like methed-up honey badgers.Does this kind of wackiness actually work? Could other agencies follow their lead and see similar results?Take a listen to V and see what you think.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Veronique on LinkedIn. And check out her agency’s site at thejamesagency.com.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to dive deep into some of your own challenges at work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session, where we can explore new, desuckified possibilities for your future.Bye, everyone!Bonus question from V to our audience:What is the one thing that you'd ask your younger self now, knowing what you know about your business or where you are in your professional career?#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #findyourcape #executivecoaching #advertising #adagency #adagencyculture #employeeturnover Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Quick, are you a meerkat? A chimp? A snow leopard? A wolf?No, I’m not high. I’m talking about the 4 belonging personas developed by Dan J. Berger, today’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast.This may be the most important work anyone is doing right now. We are in the midst of a belonging crisis, fueled by social media, egged on by COVID and reinforced by our own lack of clarity on how to make things better.Enter Dan.Dan’s whole life has been centered around belonging. It hasn’t always been easy. But his work has paid off—for him and for all of us.His quest began in the womb, a mother preparing to give him up for adoption, a son feeling that disconnect viscerally. As an adopted child, he always wondered if he belonged. As a 9 year old Israeli moving over 5,000 miles to the US, those feelings only intensified. As an adult navigating the business world and ultimately selling the startup he founded, his quest became a calling.Where do we find belonging? How do we cultivate it? Why does it feel so elusive at times?Dan has answers. And some practical tools that can help us find our way.You can start by taking the belonging persona quiz on his website. (I’m a snow leopard, btw.)Then, you should read his book, The Quest: The Definitive Guide to Finding Belonging.Lastly, you should listen to this episode. Dan goes deep on a bunch of practical ways to increase belonging. Including🐱 Creating a belonging mindset🐱 Fostering a belonging culture at work, which needs to come from top leadership, not HR🐱 And one I don’t fully agree with, but can appreciate… taking a more transactional view of work.That last one would be misery for me, but nirvana for others. I think the key is asking yourself the question I pose to every guest: What role does work play in your life?There’s no wrong answer. You get to decide. And I can help you figure it out, btw.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Dan on LinkedIn. And check out his site, belongingquest.com, where you’ll find his belonging quiz, info on his book and a ton of other helpful goodies.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to dive deep into some of your own challenges at work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session, where we can explore new, desuckified possibilities for your future.Bye, everyone!Bonus question for our audience:Ask this of anything you do in life: “Does (fill in the blank) give me belonging?”If you’d like to watch this episode on YouTube, please click here. #desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #findyourcape #executivecoaching #belonging #DEI #connection #belongingpersona Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

From overseas battlegrounds to overseeing booze regulations to fighting human trafficking and cleaning up county government, Bentley Nettles has been a busy man.Oh, and he wrote a book, because of course he did.The book captures a leadership philosophy honed over the course of his impressive career. As a Brigadier General (JAG) in the Army, Executive Director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) and Brazos County Commissioner.The philosophy? Pretty straightforward. Embrace different perspectives, invest in people, encourage creative problem solving, provide meaningful work and seek constant feedback.The results? Nothing short of amazing.🐱 Bentley was deployed to multiple combat theaters around the world, including Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq and earned the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart Medal for his service.🐱 He reduced permit approval time from 85-89 days to 48 hours at TABC.🐱 While there, he created a system for identifying human traffickers that was so successful it’s been replicated in 12 states.🐱 He founded Brazos Valley Cares, a non-profit group dedicated to serving military veterans and their families.My takeaway? It’s not just about the philosophy, it’s about living it. That’s what Bentley Nettles has done. Is doing. And will continue to do.We’d do well to follow his lead.(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)Let the desuckifying begin.You can follow Bentley on LinkedIn. And check out his book, “Creating Excellence: Insights for Leaders and Their Legacy” on Amazon.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to dive deep into some of your own challenges at work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session, where we can explore new, desuckified possibilities for your future.Bye, everyone!Bonus question for our audience:What do you like to see in your leaders? If you can answer that question, then you can probably help shape the leaders that you want to have over you—or become that leader.#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #executivecoaching #leadership #legacy #walkingthewalk Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe

Work sucks? Maybe it’s not you. Maybe it’s the model you’re working in.Carlos Musquez came to this realization after 30+ years in the ad business. And he’d love it if you didn’t have to wait so long.He invites you to ask a very simple question. When was the last time you were really proud of your work? And if the answer is, “it’s been a minute,” ask yourself why?It might be time for something new. For Carlos, that new thing is Old School—a creative collective that lives the values learned throughout his career.You can check out those values on his site. Some of my favorites:🐱 Creativity is an Act of Defiance🐱 Risk is a Requirement🐱 Reject the Trend Trap🐱 Impact Over OpticsI’d argue those values are a solid recipe for good living, not matter what you’re doing. Good for life, good for advertising.A good foundation to start something new.Let the desuckifying begin.—————You can follow Carlos on LinkedIn. And check out his site at oldschool-collective.com. It’s full of inspiring goodness.If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to dive deep into some of your own challenges at work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session, where we can explore new, desuckified possibilities for your future.Bye, everyone!#desuckifyworkpodcast #desuckifywork #findyourwhy #executivecoaching #creativity #advertising #neverstoplearning Get full access to DesuckifyWork® at tjbennett.substack.com/subscribe